Tag Archives: work from home mom

Making Money As A Stay-At-Home Mom

Believe me when I say that I am thankful every single day to be able to stay at home with Will. It allows me to be a part of every one of his milestones and witness him grow up right before my eyes without feeling like I’m missing out.

But being a stay-at-home mom doesn’t mean I can just forgo the entire making money idea. I still have a car payment, cellphone bill, and many other monthly payments to make, so obviously I have to generate income from somewhere. So how exactly do I manage to make money, without even leaving my house?

Freelance Writing

My main source of income as a stay-at-home mom comes from freelance writing. I’ve been working as a freelancer for almost a year and a half. I began working for a company based out of Cincinnati that is still in the process of expansion. For them, I write recaps of syndicated television shows, to summarize what happened during each episode in case anyone missed it. The website I write for is called Recapo and lately the shows I’ve covered are The Dr Oz Show and The Doctors but I’ve also covered The Chew, Ellen, The View, The Today Show, and The Talk.

I only work for that company when there are new episodes, which means little to no work for me during the summer. However, when shows are back and all-new, I bring in a great income.

Writing For UpWork and BlogMutt

To supplement the income I get from Recapo and also to build my writing portfolio, I write for two other freelance websites: UpWork (formerly ODesk) and BlogMutt. I simply created a profile on UpWork and then whenever I can, I submit proposals to people looking for freelancers. I read job postings, determine if it’s a project I can complete, and then try to sell myself well enough to get them to choose me. I’ve made several hundred dollars in the past three months working for UpWork, and that’s by only working every now and then, not as much as I can. UpWork is great for both amateur and professional writers.

As for BlogMutt, I had to apply to become a writer for them, and after passing a test, I was “hired.” It’s another website that allows me to work as much as I want, when I want. I write articles based on the material a client is looking for, and if they like the article they can select it to be published on their blog. If my article is published, I get paid $8. The articles typically have to be at least 250 words, which means I can write an article in less than 15 minutes. So far I’ve written 8 articles for BlogMutt and have a 100% approval rate. I plan on writing for them much more in the future.

Both of these websites work through ghost writing, which means I don’t get credit for the material I submit. I’ve written about all kinds of topics including health and fitness, beauty, and pregnancy. I thoroughly enjoy writing, so to be able to do what I love, get paid for it, and stay at home with Will, is a true blessing!

Money-Making Apps

Another way I supplement my income as a stay-at-home mom is through the use of apps. While the income isn’t exactly enough to support my family with, it can easily total enough to cover one of my monthly bills. I just recently got started with SwagBucks, but I’ve been reading articles that show how you can pretty easily wrack up enough points for $50-100 in PayPal gift cards, as well as gift cards for stores like Target. It’s an easy way to bring in just a little extra cash with little to no effort!

Inbox Dollars and Viggle Apps

Other apps I use include Inbox Dollar and Viggle. I hardly use Inbox Dollars but just by filling out my information and checking my Inbox, I’ve made almost $20. You can earn more by answering surveys and performing searches through their search engine, but I’ve been using SwagBucks for that instead.

As for Viggle, you get points by watching TV and “checking in” as well as watching short ads and occasionally answering polls. You also get 100 points for every song you listen to. I’ve kind-of slacked off a bit with Viggle, but I’ve earned over 70,000 points so far.

With Viggle, your points can be redeemed for various items. The bigger, more expensive the item, the more points you need. You get 1 point for every 1 minute of TV watched when you check in, and an additional 20 points for every ad watched. So it takes a while to build up your points. The “most expensive” item you can turn in points for is an iPad mini, worth 1,665,000 points. You can also use your points to redeem items like merchandise, e-books, music, and gift cards. If you watch a lot of TV, this is the app for you!

Other, Random Ways I Bring In More Money

I also make a bit more money with a few other things, such as CrowdSource. CrowdSource is another website I had to apply to first, before I could actually start working. For them, I perform small tasks as a copy writer or quality assurance specialist, and receive anywhere from $.05 to $3.00 per task. The tasks can take just a few seconds or a lot longer, depending on what you decide to do. These are tasks I tend to do in my spare time, whenever I have nothing better to really do.

I’ve made around $20 on CrowdSource so far, again just working for a few minutes here and there. Just like BlogMutt, if I put more time into this site, I could earn more. Another great way to supplement income and some of the tasks can be really fun!

I also make a little extra money through UserTesting. It’s a website where companies pay to have people test out their websites to find out how user-friendly they are. To work for UserTesting, you have to pass a test that requires you to test out a website while you say out loud, what you’re thinking. If you’re hired, you can make $10 per test, which typically take around 10 minutes to complete, but the tasks come few and far between. I simply leave UserTesting open in a tab on my computer and listen for the “ding” that tells me a test is available. I’ve made as much as $100 in one month from UserTesting, so I can verify that it is legit.

The last significant way I have made extra money while being a stay-at-home mom, is by selling things on CraigsList. I’ve helped my parents sell their pop-up camper, sold landscaping bricks, and even old kitchen appliances. If you have things just lying around your house, why not try to sell them? If you price things reasonably, you’re sure to peak someone’s interest!

While I don’t exactly bring in loads and loads of money, I make more than enough to cover my expenses and then some. I can still treat Will and myself every once in a while and enjoy the occasional shopping spree. But I’m certainly money conscious and aware of my finances. I’m truly blessed to be able to stay at home with Will, while still bringing in money for my family.

Now that the weather is getting warmer, Will & I are spending as much time outside as possible. Lately, I’ve been scheduled to work at 10 & 2 M-F. I’ll explain what I do for a living in another post. While I try to hit the gym at least five days a week in the evenings, I try to stay active throughout the day so I don’t feel guilty if I don’t make it to the gym.

Will & his “fur-bro” Reese love to go on walks with me. If it’s not too cool, we’ll head out before I work at 10, on lunch, & then after work & before dinner. That’s not always the case though, as sometimes work takes longer to complete.

There’s a loop we really like to walk around the neighborhood that’s about 2.5 miles. I can typically walk around 6,000 steps per walk, which usually lasts about 45 minutes.

As you can tell, I try to be as active as possible. I don’t like keeping Will cooped up in the house all day when the weather’s nice. There’s even a little park less than a mile away that we love to visit.

Being a work-at-home mom doesn’t have to mean being stuck inside all day. Will’s on a great schedule, I can get my work done & we get plenty of time to be outside & enjoy the sunshine.

I was incredibly blessed to be a stay-at-home mom & I take advantage of it, no doubt. Staying fit & active is important to me (again, more on that in another post), but I’m lucky to live an active life each and every day with my son!